What is something you can give a 5-minute talk about without any preparation? For me, other than faith, it’s foster care, and we like stories because they tell the truth about humanity. We all have things we are passionate about, which usually take time, money, and energy. We usually develop relationships around the things we are passionate about and decide whether something is important enough to take time, money, or energy away from the things we are passionate about.
When you decide to follow Jesus, it’s kind of like falling into a new fandom. You go full tilt reading everything you can about what is and isn’t true or real about the fandom. You start decking yourself out in gear related to the fandom, you start quoting lines from the fandom, and you hang out with other people who do that, too.Â
But following Jesus is also different than joining a fandom because it requires you to give up your life and become like Jesus. When you join a fandom, it doesn’t require anything of you, maybe money because you have read or watch the thing. But Jesus requires action as a response because following Jesus is about building a relationship and being a part of the mission, not just fangirling about it. And, because of that relationship, there are things we should naturally want to do. One, because we love Jesus and want to show him how thankful we are for what he has done, and two, if we really believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we should act like it. So here is a list of 4 things every Christian should do because of their relationship with God
Make time with God a Priority
If you say that God is the most important thing, then you need to prioritize time with him. You’ll never hear from him or learn how to follow him if you never spend time with him. Think about everything that matters in your life or are important to you: job, sports, family, hobbies; you spend time on them because they’re important. And when you don’t, you might get frustrated that your time with them is interrupted. Do you feel that way about your time with God? Do you ensure you consistently spend time with him and invest in your relationship with him? Â
Talk about your Faith
Now, I don’t mean in a door-to-door cringe kind of way. I mean in a normal everyday type of way. If your faith is the center of your life, it will naturally spill over. You won’t have to plan a time to talk to someone, or awkwardly force it into a conversation; it will just naturally show up in all the things you talk about because it’s the thing that all other parts of life center around. And on some level, everyone is drawn to figure out the faith/spiritual part of life, so those conversations will come up as you develop relationships with people. I’ve never had a group of people I spend consistent time with where faith didn’t naturally come up regularly; you just need to be prepared and willing to present what you believe in a matter-of-fact, non-judgmental way.Â
Give to your Church Home
Jesus was clear there is an expectation of giving money back to God if you are following him. You can make a lot of arguments on how much to give, whether it has to be your church home or if you can give to any Christian organization. But here’s my question: If you do not value and support the ministry of the church you are at, why are you there? Are you taking more than you’re giving? If you don’t support that church, go somewhere you can support and get behind what they do with your time and money. I think 10% should be the minimum goal of every Christian, but know that is difficult for many, especially if you’re just starting out, so just start. One dollar is one dollar worth of trust, and God will work with that. Once you make room for God in the little ways, it might surprise you how quickly you find more room for him and how much he takes care of your gaps. I’ve also come to the belief that if you’re trying to justify why or why not something in the Bible does or doesn’t apply to what you’re doing, you may want to spend a little more time with God about it and be open to a Holy Spirit nudge. God might just be nudging you to take a step of faith in this area.
Serve Your Church Home
One thing is obvious as you read the Bible, especially the New Testament: our faith is action-based. We were not meant to just sit in a room and talk to Jesus all day, and we weren’t meant to just show up for a worship experience once a week. Our faith is centered around relationships: relationships with God, relationships with other Christians, and relationships with people in our communities. And while it is good to be involved in organizations in your community, similar to giving, if you don’t want to support what your home church is doing through serving, then why are you there? If you love your home church and believe it is a key part of fulfilling the mission of Jesus, then why wouldn’t you want to be a part of that? We weren’t meant to sit on the sidelines and watch others make disciples; Jesus gave that command to all his followers. It doesn’t mean you must do something big or learn a new skill. I am positive that if you went to any leader at your church and told them your skills and availability, they would have a way for you to serve. And if you’re a part of a church that doesn’t value everyone being a part of the mission of Jesus, or it feels like it, I would have some real sit-downs with the leaders. Find out why they are structured that way because the example of the early church is everyone has a role to play in what is happening.
So what do you think? Do you agree, or did I miss something, or maybe you think this list is unreasonable? Let me know in the comments below.
Stay Weird,
